Currently, cables and wires are predominately used in communication networks for transferring information such as voice, video, data, etc. from one device to another. Devices on a communication network can generally be categorized as two types: servers and clients. Those devices that provide services/functions to other devices are servers; the devices that connect to and utilize the provided services/functions are clients. Generally in a wired network, authentication of a user for accessing a wired network, such as a local area network (LAN), can require the user to sign-on by providing information such as a login identification and a password on a client. And because each client within the wired network is physically connected to the network and can have a unique address, a communication session between a server on the wired network and the client is generally secure.
However, there is a growing desire to have network clients be portable or to have a mobile client that can operate beyond a defined environment. In contrast to wired clients, wireless or mobile clients can establish a communication session with a server without being physically connected to cables or wires. Accordingly, information such as voice, video, and data are transmitted and received wirelessly from one device to another and the information can be intercepted or tampered with by an impersonator posing as an intended user. Therefore, one way to ensure security within a mobile communication network would be to provide a system and method that can authenticate and identify the intended user to the mobile communication network supplying the services/functions.
In addition, as the development of mobile communication network technology continues to advance, various functions that can be downloaded through the mobile communication network to a mobile client have also advanced. These advanced functions (e.g., a call waiting function, a caller identification function, a music playing function, etc.) may require a higher level of security. Thus, there is also a need to provide additional security or securities for these advance functions to an intended user that goes beyond authenticating the intended user to the mobile communication network that is supplying the functions.